More Murdoch housing by 2009.

by Gloria Phua

May 2, 2008

MURDOCH Student Village, at the west end of the campus, will soon have an e-library, cafe and swimming pool.

The added facilities, to cater for increased demand for more student accommodation, will offer 298 more beds by the start of first semester, 2009.

“This project will help cater for an increasing number of domestic and international students requiring campus accommodation,” one of the uni’s deputy vice chancellors, Gary Martin, said.

Currently, Murdoch’s student lodges turn away 500 students every year, for lack of bedspace.

University guild president Clare Middlemas supports the extensions, which can be seen rising alongside South Street.

“A lot of people do apply for on-campus accommodation but not all of them manage to get a place,” Ms Middlemas said.

However, she was also concerned about the possibility of an increase in rent, as a result of the added facilities.

“There’s been a lot of complains from students about the possibility of the increase in rent,” she said, “and we are sort of campaigning for rent to be lowered, but at the moment we haven’t gotten very far.”

Professor Martin believed student village rent would “still be very competitive with accommodations outside the university.”